Watchcase-back.



F. ECAUBERT.

WATCHCASE BACK.

APPucATlou HLED Dec. 13. 1913;

Patented Oct. 22, 1918.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

V T0011 it may cg'nem;

- v STATE Oilrms:

mnnnrc EoAUBEa'r; or BBooxLY, NEW Yoax.

wA'rcHcAsE-BACK.

Lesase.

'Be it known ;that I, V`lTnEDiRiov EAUBERT,

a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, city of New York,

in the county of Kingsand State of New York,'have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Watchcase-Back's, of which the following isa fullV and clear specification. l

M invention relates towatch case backs,'

beze s, and the like, and tothe method and apparatus for producing the same. The invention primarily conce'rns the production of :watchV case backs or bezelshaving internalv threads for securing them to the watch case center, but the eneral principles of the inventionv are capa le of'wider application. i

The present invention'contemplates certain 'improvements in the! threading'of the watch'case back or bezel, a new and improved method of producing thel back or bezel and an improve'ddie construction. In

` this application' I claim only thewatch case v for la divisional f application.

back or bezel or the like, and reserve the subject matter of the method and apparatus v In the `prior manufacture of Vthreaded backs or ,bezels for watch cases the threading has had the disadvantage of beingincomplete at the last or inner turn, Vdue tov 1 theinecessity of withdrawing the threading tool to .avoid running into the'metal'at the base of the thread. Also'in the manufacture of a die for producing the threads `in jthe backl or bezel, 'the thread has been imperfect at the Vbaseoflthe die thread for: this same reason. The thread does not terminate in a circle andthe seat off the back or bezel upon the watch case center has consequently been defective; According to my invention the thread in the watch case back or bezel is circle or conical surface, whereby the seating and closure of the back or bezel upon the center are more perfect.. .In theproduction of the thread die I employ, a follower'whlch is 'appliedto thethreadpreliminarily cut on w at the ase of thezthread. This die 'when the die, andV forcedidownto complete the formation. of' a beveled 'thread straight through to thejtermination of the thread,v

andto rovide a'circular orconcal surface Speclcation of Letters Patent. Ptented (ich. 22, 1918. Application filed December V13, 1913. Serial No. 806,488. i

press in which the watch case back or bezel maybe produced'; i Fig. 2 isa transverse section of a portion of the watch case back produced thereby; Figs.l 3 andv 4 aredetail views, partly in section, showing successive steps of the 'work piece or blank; i w

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional elevation of a pressure controlV for the secondary movenient of the die press; Fig. 6 is a perspective view ot' the threading die and' the follower used in the comple-I tion of the thread thereon; e

Fig. 7 is a similar'fview of the same with the follower in section p Fig.` 8 is a perspective view of the Vthreading die with the watch case back shown thereon in section.

Referring more specifically to Fig. 1,10'

is the base, and lltheiprimary plunger'movable therein as, for example, by 'hydraulic pressure. The primaryv plunger 11 is provided with a central Chamber for? the receptionV of a secondary plunger which comprises the inner or central plunger member 12. and' i the outer plunger'member or follower 13. The central plunger 12 is provided with a central bore 14: terminating below in' a valve Chamber 15 in which is disposed Va ball Valve 16, which is normally pressed upward against its seat by Valve lspring 17 disposed within the primary plunger 11.V The primary plunger is eng'aged by spring plates 18, thereby maintaining a space between theV two plungers for the reception of pressure fluid, such' as oil.V Oil is introduced into this space from time to time'as required, through the central bore 14, which forms the oil duet, theeball Valve 16 being held away from its seat by a suitable tool inserted through the oil duet. The packing 19 closes ofl the space below the plunger 13,v so as to confine' the pressure fluid between the primary and secondary plungers. The follower 13is adjustably secured to the central pluuger 12 by means of screws 20, which are fixedly'sel cured in the plunger 12 and pass `ree1y through follower 13. :Z -The .fheads=y `of-.the screws are disposed within recesses421 of follower 13 and between the screwiheadsf' and the bottomu of the recesses 21 are confined` the pre'ssure lsprings-22, which norffV mally maintain the follower seategil;againstv the plunger 12.

,Seated upon the topioftcentral plunger 12 is the male die member. ,23 which is provided with the threading 24 for. formingthe Vinner threaded .surface y ofthe watch case back, orthe like. lThe male die member 23 is `pre-` vented. from turningon V,central plnnger 12 by means of pins 25. Surrounding the male die member 23 is the annular' rim. die 26 which is sea-ted upon the inner annular matrix 27.

shoulder of thefollower 13a.

. jImmediately above the die .partjdescried he amatrix 27 is supported in clamp 27 1,7 center die 28, the rini die L6r andlthe matrix A 27 t hus,constitutethe forming-die.V parts for theiwatchcasebackpr,bezeL i o The. vapparatus isdesigned to;\,vorknpon a bla-nk `orwork piece,such.as .shown in ]Eig.y 3, wherein is represented a blank 26 `for a.

watch caseV back; This blank 28 is ositiojned onathe center; 'die123 whichislt ie. thread forming die, and the primary'zplunger -11 is then raised under vthe influence of hydraulic pressure maintaining the secondary i plun gers with it, and bringing thecenteridie. 23

andblank 28into firm engagementfwith'the matrix, 27 may have its forming port-ion' designed to1=emboss or otherwise ornament the. back of the watch case back'and m suchcases:

it may be necessary to exert. especiallydhigh pressureqby thecenterdie,23. The fluid spaces between theprimary .and secondary plungers provides for vrelativefmotion be-.`V

tw eenthem and where highresistances to the movement of centerdie 23,1sencountered,

as in prodncing an'embossed watch case .back orbezel, the primaryfplunger. 11 will be` forced into direct contact with thebottom of secondary plunger 12, so :as to exertthe fullpressure Vof'the primary plunger 11 directly, upon'the blank. Inany case, whether pro-` ducing an embossedarticlegor not, the rela-' tive movement between plungers 11,.and 12 will occurto a greater or less extent'and thus force fiuid from betweenl thetwo opposite the follower 13 to -force ythe rim die 26 against therbottom-of theflrim .of blank 28. Underj theV influence ofthis pressure =the metal i ofthe rim of'blank- 28 is-'crowded inward and caused to flow into thethread recess 24; ofthe; center or threading'*diev v23,1-'thus-pro- It will be apparent ,thatl the' Infordenta'voidxbes" sive pressure being applied by the rim die 26, which might read- -vilyf-occur in the case of producing an emvbossed watch case back. or bezel at which time allofithe fluid beneath p1unger121hiay be .dsvchflgd into the annular space beneath follower 13, I provide a pressure regulator which is illustratedv'imFigfi :ofthe 1dravg-g ingsz` ,The regulatorem 0.i1itr, ,1``V member com- Prises. ;'byfpflss ;29 formed in'ith Primary Plilrig'nl ll and, leading tronie-the .flnnulm space beneath'follower :131 toapiston barrl; 30,. threadd vinto .thephmgerz ;11, i'aginst .a Pflfkngv` 31a Link :32 pvoted ,inluga; andj-,hasjpirotally `se a1ref1-t0 its fnpper: enda bar 34`which has notches 35 for the recep tn fof a; Weight 36, andt operateea .;piston red 37,1;whichipasses 1 /thrQugh a; ,glandz;88= and packing A39, in. -thefzfpiston: barrelaqe The piston 32 1 works 'in the lo,ajrnel;.30,,za`ndI under ;the influeneezof weight zeit, prmzenta` the, loccurrence; of .excessivew ressure ,im'thez eflnid, pressure jSlin'uce zbeeatii ifollower' 1 The f illustratinzofi z the ;presure control, aswell as the ;details of; contruetion' of, lthe other .partslof thedie. .press,.ehoucl1 b'e na; gal'dd VOnly `aS in the naturexof` an -eampley of construction embodying the, principlee of, 9 5 any nventiomas itfi,willzheLa'pparemz; that: many Z alterations' i of .z design -fxn'yl "be z gnader while.y .still`V performing';thei functions ns volved.v ``In orderto maintain automatically the proper quantitytofioil'beneaththesec-i ondary ;plungelxl may: flirther employ 'an oil a cup {5.0, which,` communicates .withthe pres1l sure fluid spacebyt'way: of neek: 51- ;andic'hek' ValVAeLL: '-iziiL'.

zl :1; -1' w.. In Fig.` V1'ofLthedraw'ing'I have villnstrated: a yieldin lock- :fonzpreventingzthefsecondary; plunger: z rom` beingidrawn'1 :outofi :the prrmaryf-.plunger by thes-;diee23nibomingjammed'in the matrix 271i, Thisldevice'conw ef., prises a :ring V-fseatedfon a :'peripheralz Ean-f. nular shoulder: of .they followerl 13 mwhich 2 held fin place i against ;dstance vpieoes '55; 'by' means .boi a: spring y56 confinedbeneatlr`` the head zof bolt.` 57, Which'is threaded `int1.the' L2 i primary plunger;11.;1 wi; ;1111: 9

The'operationof the die Apress may beifimhi marized'zas'follows: The-:blank 28 isplacedl over the center or V.threadig 1 dief 23 2 and? th'l primarynplungerllnl withzthe .secondavyi i` plun'ger`s,.then raisedrto bring fthe iblank, 281 within' they. Iformingf space fofl vmatrix"1271.2'- Whetherthe blank'fris1 tobeembossed or *noty the operation ofplungeri llgwillcause pre's-s sure fluid to flow into `.the annularispac'e 'i w neathr ollowerA 113, afterf'V the 'die` 223111848! 'int-fi 12 5 tained f its :limit lof fIrro'v'en'ient'l` and th creilpon! the fol31owerJ-13' will'be raised independently ofithe plunger 12 and cauef'the metal o'f rim3 of blank 28to;flow:intelthelthreudl spacesz 24Y'offdief233tbns formig'the thrcadianli al? the same, time producing 'the fiattened seat portion of the watch'case back or hezel. During this operation the pressure control device will prevent the occurrence of excessive pressure, the piston 37 being ralsed by the increased pressure and t-hereby increasing the space accessible to the pressure fluid, so as to -maintain the normal woi king ressure. The lun er 11 is then lowered,

rst relieving t e fo lower 13, which is returned to its seat on plunger 12, and immediately relieving plunger 12, which is freed from plunger 11 by the spring plates 18, as the pressure fluid is returned to the space between `plungers 11 and 12. The watch case back or bezel remains fixed on threading` die 23 from which it may be unscrewed and removed, the pins 25 facilitating the uuscrewing of the back or bezel by preventing turning of the die 23.

n addition to the eneral arrangement and operation of the ie press, which has now been described, my invention further comprises an improvement in the manufacture and construction of the threading die 23, above described. In cutting a thread upon a cylindrical member, such as die 23,

it will be 'obvious that while the bevel of the thread may be complete at the outer end of the cylinder, the last turn of the thread at the inner end will be beveled on the outer side only or, in other words, the threading will terminate in a surface y which is not cylindrical, but has a spiral surface. In the construction of the threading die 23 I `provide for the continuance of the bevel up to the termination of the thread and in this way form a circular instead of a spiral base. In other words, the threading produced is perfect, just as would be the case in threading a cylinder straight through from one end to the other, without the interference of metal abutting the `threading tool, as it arrives at the endof the cut. This construction is illustrated in F igs. 6, 7 and 8, and is `of primary im ortance to the Vthreading of the watch case ack or bezel, as will ap car.

Referring to Fig. 6 the die 23 is here illustrated with the thread 24 partially turned therein. This threadin as completed by the ordinary cutting too in a lathe terminates in a spiral section or a base which is not at right angles to the aXis of the' cylinder and hcnce isnot a circle. In order to complete the be'vel of the last turn of thread and cause the thread to terminate in a circle or conical surface, as distinguished from avspiral surface, I employ a finishing die or cutter 40, which has the thread cutting surfaces 41 continuin straight through with perfect bevel from eginnin to end, and terminating in a conical sur ace 42, which leads to an enlargement 43 of the inner recesses. This finishing die is threaded on to the imperfect thread produced in the lathe, and forced through the metal beyond the incomplete thread to complete the formation of the thread on the die 23. This finishing die thus in effect cuts a remainder or terminal section of the thread and forms on the die 23 a circular or conical surface 44, corresponding with surface 42 of the finishing die 40. The threads produced on die 23 thus Continue with perfect bevel straight through to the circular or conical surface 44.

The feature just described provides for a perfect or complete thread terminating in a transverse plane at the web portion in the finished watch case back or bezel. As illustrated in Fig. 8, the blanl: 28 receives from the die 23, a perfect bevel thread at the inner end 45 of the watch case back thread,

which can not be produced by the usual lathe operation, and its outer end 46 is like- Wise perfectly beveled and terminates in a conical surface. This construction is illustrated in Fig'. 2 on an enlarged scale. The application of the watch case back to the center of the watch case is greatly facilitated by the conical surface 46, and the complete bevel of the threading provides a more perfect attachment ofV the back to the center, resulting in a dust proof seating of the back or bezel upon the center, so that the lines of demarcation between these parts of the watch case are practically invisible, thus enhancing the appearance and efl'ectiveness of the watch case.

I claim:

1. A watch case back or the like, comprising side and web portions, the side portion having vinternal threading beveled on both sides and terminating in a single transverse plane at the web portion, and a countersunk surface intersecting with the thread at the entrance.

2. A watch back or bezel having its edge thickenedV and compressed into substantially solid form and with the inner face of the thickened portion in cylindrical relation to the aXis of the article and a screw thread swaged in said face, substantially as described.

3. A watch back or bezel having its edge thickened and compressed into substantially solid form and with the inner face of the thickened portion screw-threaded in cylindrical relation to the axis of the article.

FREDERIC EOAUBERT.

Witnesses WM. A. COURTLAND, OcTAvIUs 'KNIGH'L Copies of this patent may be obtained for flvee cent: each, by addreninz the commiuioner of' Pntentl,

Washington, D. O." 

